Downtown Birmingham Renaissance Reflects Optimism in Michigan’s Retail Sector

Seven new retail stores have opened in downtown Birmingham since January, bringing occupancy in the Birmingham Principal Shopping District to 98 percent – the highest level since the organization promoting retail development began keeping track in 2001.

The activity in Birmingham follows statewide trends, according to an economic outlook survey of 152 small business owners that shows 17 percent of businesses plan to hire new employees this year, The Birmingham Eccentric reports.

Six months ago, PNC Financial Services Group survey showed only 4 percent of the Michigan’s small business owners planned to hire in 2014.

“That’s a dramatic jump,” PNC economist Kurt Rankin told the newspaper. “It’s probably the biggest jump we’ve seen in the region this year.”

The Birmingham Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce covering six communities – Birmingham, Bloomfield Township, Bloomfield Hills, Beverly Hills, Bingham Hills and Franklin – has sponsored about 40 ribbon cutting events over the past year, the vast majority of them new businesses.

“We don’t track hiring,” Joe Bauman, the chamber president, said, “but we’ll list job openings and I can tell you we’ve gotten more listings in the last six months than we’ve had in the previous three years.”

Among those contributing to Birmingham’s retail renaissance is Hot Mama, an upscale fashion boutique that opened last month at 128 S. Old Woodward. The store employs 10 part-time workers.

Melissa Helfman, the store manager, said she’s encouraged by the uptick in retail activity in downtown Birmingham.

“Birmingham, I remember years back had all these great retailers, and I see a revamp in that with all the new retailers coming in,” she said. “I think it’s fabulous.”